


Training

by crystallineCanis147



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: A lot of Cap in the beginning, Between CA:TWS and vaguely leading into CA:CW, Bucky Barnes - Freeform, F/M, Hopefully I can finish what I start, I promise Buck will appear, I promise you'll get your Bucky though, I'm Bad At Titles, I'm Sorry, Steve Rogers/Reader in the beginning but only as friends I swear, The Winter Soldier - Freeform, i dont know if smut will be a thing, its been a while since ive written please dont hurt me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-08 10:37:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6851335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystallineCanis147/pseuds/crystallineCanis147
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're just a civilian with a secret skillset, but when Captain America knocks on your door asking for your assistance and wanting you to become an Avenger, you find yourself actually considering the offer. When the time comes, will you be ready to face off to the target you've been training for?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back to the Beginning

Cold, calculating eyes hovered over you – there was metal tightly gripping your throat, and hot breath fanning over your skin that now glistened with sweat. It seemed you were currently at an impasse with this man as you waited for the star-spangled hero himself to get you out of this mess. You may have been under Captain America’s tutelage but there were still some things that Steve Rogers hadn’t yet prepared you for. James Buchanan Barnes was one of those things.

However, let’s not jump ahead of ourselves, shall we? Let’s go back to the beginning.

Your name is (f/n) (l/n), and there you sat on your futon, darkness only being pushed back by the flickering television in front of you. A warm, furry blanket was draped across your shoulders to overpower the chill from the pint of ice cream placed in your lap. Large raindrops pelted your apartment’s windows and thunder gently rolled across the night sky, lulling you into the need for sleep, which you gave into easily. After slipping the ice cream back into the freezer, you slunk back to the master bedroom, and nearly fell into your mattress. Even if you had, you wouldn’t have complained – you nearly fell into a deep slumber right as your head made contact with your pillow.

The next thing you know, daylight is forcing itself into your room and prying you from sleep’s warm embrace. Well - daylight, and the forceful knocking echoing from your front door.

“What the fu – Just a minute!” you yell out, voice still hoarse and groggy-sounding.

That seemed to assuage the visitor momentarily, giving you time to slip on a bra and then less importantly, clothes that weren’t pajamas. You grabbed your hairbrush on the way out of the room, gliding it through your hair arbitrarily a couple of times before setting it down on the bar right before the door. You clasped the doorknob, undid the locks, and pulled the door to you. Standing on the other side was a young blonde man, with gentle blue eyes and a perfect set of teeth. He was standing there, studying the door mat, arms crossed, and a look of concentration etched onto his face. When he pulled his eyes up to meet yours, there was a strange combination of emotions swirling in the haze of blue – none of these emotions could you clearly read. Still he smiled nonetheless at you.

“Good morning Ms. (l/n),” he started off.

“Well good morning to you, Captain. For what do I owe this pleasure?” you smiled slightly, intrigued. Your eyes widened slightly as you realized.

“Pardon my manners – please, do come in!” You corrected yourself, pulling back to allow him inside.

“Well thank you,” he started off, stepping inside before continuing. “I hope me coming this early wasn’t an interruption.”

You shook your head as you stifled a yawn.

“No, of course not. Can I get you anything? Coffee?” you asked as you headed towards the bar, starting a cup for yourself.

“That’d be wonderful actually.”

You asked how he’d like his drink and set off to making it, continuing conversation as you did so.

“So what brings Captain America to my humble little apartment?” You inquired, not looking up from the mug in front of you. “After all, this is the first time we’ve spoken, I know you from the news, and the Smithsonian exhibit, but what brings you to me? I’m your average, everyday civilian. This isn’t about that parking ticket, is it?” you tease, partially.

He gives a small chuckle as you set the mug in front of him, taking a seat across from him and folding your hands over your own mug, now turning your full attention to the man.

“Ah, no, not for that – lucky you. I’m here for something a little more important.”

Your eyebrow raises in genuine interest at hearing this.

“Yeah? Do tell, Captain.”

“I’m here on behalf of the entire Avengers team – which we all agree that we’d like you to become part of.”

Your jaw almost dropped but you kept your cool.

“Me? But why? There’s nothing special about me,” you tried to shrug off any implications of being anything more than a normal human, but that received a scoff, a roll of the eyes, and a smirk from the attractive blonde sharing coffee with you. 

“Don’t play dumb, (y/n). I know. The entire team knows. It’s okay,” he reassured. “We feel like you could be very helpful to have around.”

“I’ll have to think about it – I’ve never really considered anything like this. And my abilities? I’ve kept them under lock and key. I mean, I guess not well enough, if you guys know about them, but they’re far from fine-tuned.”

Steve nodded, looking down, still a ghost of a smirk on his lips.

“I understand. It’s asking a lot of someone, something like this. Say, what are your abilities exactly?  I wasn’t actually told, I just was informed that you’d be a great assistance to us.”

You looked to the wall, focusing on a spot and laughing slightly.

“I’m like a mixed bowl of fruit if we’re being real,” you chuckle.

“I’m just basically a superhuman – Increased strength, speed, agility. Of course, none to your degree thanks to any serum. Since mine was a natural mistake of good ol’ mother nature herself, mine just fall in the category of ‘better than human, not as good as Captain America’,” you teased before continuing.

“I’m pretty good at tracking too, but the special thing I have going for me? Shapeshifting. Mostly into animals, that was what I focused on as a child, go figure. I can turn into any animal that I’ve seen. I’m basically an Animorph,” you said with a shrug.

“I’ve started testing shifting human details, which one would think would be easier than shifting to an animal, but it’s harder for me, ironically.”

“Nothing a little training can’t fix, you know,” Steve shrugged, taking another sip from the blue mug his fingers were curled idly around, steam swirling up into the air.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just never imagined – I mean I always fought to live a relatively simple life, but here I am, considering moving in with the Avengers.”

“So you are actually considering it then?” Steve questioned quickly, smiling.

You gave a nod as you watched the coffee slowly swirl around in your mug.

“I can’t believe it, but I am.”

Your eyes slowly went around the room taking everything in. Sure, your apartment wasn’t the absolute best, but it was yours. Everything was well kept and comfortable. A prism swayed ever-so-slightly in the window, casting a rainbow through the room. Plants were in various corners, and a grandfather clock stood proudly along one of the living area’s walls. The sofa was worn just enough to look loved, but not tattered. The entire place smelled of herbs, spices, and your favorite perfume. It wasn’t much, but this place was yours.

“Tell you what,” you murmured, as you came back from your thoughts. “Let’s do a test run. You train with me, see what I can do, I see how I interact with the others, all of that jazz. If everything goes well, I’ll not renew my lease and I’ll come live with you guys and become an Avenger. I only have a month and a half left on my lease anyway, that’s surely enough time for a test.”

Steve’s eyes lit up.

“Really? Oh (y/n), that’s great! I’ll call Tony right now.”

You smiled at his child-like excitement. You vaguely found it hard to believe that he was actually a war hero from the 40’s. That is, until you looked at him in all of his muscled glory, and heard him occasionally slip up and use 40’s jargon.

He pulled out his cell phone, and began to make deliberate motions, clearly still not very good with technology yet. Finally he was in communications with one Mr. Tony Stark.

“Hey, Tony? She said she’d do it under one condition – what? No, no, not that,” there was suddenly a soft pink over his cheeks at whatever Tony had said. He cleared his throat and continued.

“(Y/n) will be doing a sort of trial run – we’ll help her train and she’ll get to know us. By the time her apartment’s lease runs out, she’ll make her decision.”

Steve’s eyes flashed up to meet yours once more.

“Tony wants to know if he should set up a bedroom for you to stay in in case you decide to spend any nights there?”

You paused before answering. Who knows, it might come in handy to have a place there too.

“Yeah, that’d be great.”


	2. Say No More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve finally explains the true reason he wanted you to join the Avengers.

After taking time and actually getting ready for the day, you walked into your living area to find Steve leaning back into your couch, eyes closed and breathing slowly. In the span of time it had taken you, he had fallen asleep. Even after coffee? What the heck?

You stifled a giggle, looking at his sleeping form. Once again, a child-like essence surrounded him, and you waited a few seconds before attempting to wake the Avenger now curled up around a pillow.

“Just one picture. Only one” you whispered, sliding your phone out of your pocket and tip toeing closer to him. You silently took one picture of him, just as you said, and then went about waking him up. Gently you placed a hand on his shoulder and shook.

“Steve? Wake up,” you smiled as he stirred and slowly opened his eyes at you.

“Oh, wha- oops, sorry (y/n).” A sheepish grin followed as he stood up.

“You ready to go?” He asked, making his way to the door.

“Yeah, let’s head out.”

Sunlight filtered through the buildings, and the walk to Stark Towers was pleasant beside Steve, who kept conversation flowing seamlessly, flashing a beautiful smile at you every now and then. He was quite the charmer, you thought to yourself bemusedly, no wonder his fan base grew by leaps and bounds every day. Finally, about five or six blocks later, Steve slowed to a halt and you followed his actions. Your eyes skimmed up, and up, and up.

“Jesus…” you exhaled and your eyes finally reached the top (or what you assumed was the top) of the tower.

Steve chuckled and allowed the scanner to scan his retina. He gently nudged you to do the same and almost gasped when the screen pulled up data on you. The doors slid open with a _whoosh_ and you followed behind the blonde super soldier.    

You didn’t realize it, but today would start a great deal of self-discovery, starting with the fact that glass elevators made you nervous. One glance over the skyline as you went up left you holding onto Steve’s arm before you had even realized what you did. He looked down at you, your face now ghostly pale and he smirked.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights, (y/n),” he softly teased.

“I didn’t know I was until just now.”

Soon enough, the elevator pinged and the doors opened. A voice called out from thin air.

“Ah, Captain Rogers, welcome back.”

“Thank you, FRIDAY. (Y/n), that’s FRIDAY.”

You looked around, confused to not see whatever it was Steve spoke of.

“Good day, Miss (L/n)! I am FRIDAY. Is there anything you need?”

“Uh,” you started, feeling odd just talking out loud. “No thank you, FRIDAY.”

Steve took the liberty of explaining FRIDAY to you just as movement in the next room caught your attention. Out walked a dark haired man in a finely tailored suit, giving you a smile.

“Ah, (y/n)! Nice to finally meet the lady behind the name. Simply radiant,” he placed a kiss on your hand after shaking it.

You blushed and smiled slightly, giving thanks. Already you were looking the place over – it wouldn’t be half-bad upgrading from your apartment to this. Being an Avenger could be fun.

“Alright, Mr. Stark,” you started before he smirked.

“Please, call me Tony.”

“Right, Tony, would you mind going ahead and explaining to me what exactly you feel I would help the Avengers to accomplish that you guys can’t already do?”

Tony gave another smirk and turned his attention to Steve.

“That would actually be a question for Capsicle.”

“Steve, I thought you said you didn’t know much about me? How would you know I’d be useful for – well – whatever it is?”

Steve turned to you, hand rubbing his neck, cue the sheepish look again.

“I didn’t want to freak you out. I figured there would be time for explaining once I got you here. We all do agree that your skills could be very useful to have in general, but also for one thing in particular.”

At this, his expression grew serious, his eyes clouded with conflicting emotions.

“In particular, your tracking and shapeshifting skills would be most useful. I need help locating someone.”

Your eyes widened; you already knew where this was going. Bucky Barnes, now infamously known as the Winter Soldier, was laying low. Captain America’s best friend, flying so low under the radar, Captain America needed your help to track him down.

“Say no more,” you gently cut him off.

Steve’s expression was one that pulled at your heartstrings and you wanted to help him in any way you could.

“I’m pretty rusty, but hey, nothing a little training can’t fix, right Cap?”

An elated smile quickly took its place on Steve’s face, and he immediately pulled you into a hug. His next statement came out barely above a whisper.

“Oh (y/n), thank you.”


	3. Almost at Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You start getting to know everyone and make some friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read thus far! I like stories that build and go in depth, hence why its taking so long for Bucky to appear. Heads up though - he'll be the main attraction once chapter five rolls around~

Steve wanted you to meet the rest of the gang before doing anything else. He asked FRIDAY to notify them, and slowly but surely the other Avengers filed into the meeting room. Watching the news had come in handy for once in your life, as you knew each of them – Black Widow, Hawkeye, Falcon, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, and The Vision. You sat at the meeting room desk in awe of them all right there in front of you. Sure, you were a “mutant” like half of them, and just as qualified to do what they did, but you didn’t – yet. And because of this, you still looked at them as if they were just legends to you.

Steve stood up, smiling and placing a hand on your shoulder.

“This is our newest recruit, (f/n) (l/n). However, she’d giving things a test run, before she decides to commit or not.”

Black Widow, or as she introduced herself formally, Natasha was first to speak up. A small smile was perched on her pale face.

“Nice to meet you, (y/n). Call me Nat. What’s your specialty?”

You gave a smile back before explaining yourself. The others nodded in approval of your skill set.

“Never hurts to have another pretty lady around the tower,” Tony quipped before jokingly being told to shut up by Natasha. Oh yes, you could definitely see yourself joining the Avengers, it sure would beat living by yourself.

After the Q and A session with the others, Steve turns to you.

“So, up for a training session now?”

“Sure thing, Steve. Try and keep up with me,” you winked, earning a light laugh from the super soldier.

Leading you to the training arena, you took a second to change into your black spandex work out shorts and your black sports bra, putting an old shirt that you had cut the sides out of on top, for full motion of your limbs. You pulled your hair back as you sauntered back out to the main area of the massive gymnasium.

“Lemme just stretch first,” you paused. “It’s truly been a while.”

You couldn’t even remember the last time you shifted into anything else. You hadn’t needed to. Keeping your powers hidden had been your top priority. Shutting your eyes, you focused on relaxing your body and feeling the pull on various muscles. Once you were satisfied, your eyes opened to see a curious Captain America watching you.

“I just wanna watch you shift. Just once, before we begin.”

You laughed and nodded.

“Sure thing. Any preference?”

He gave his head a shake, eyes set on you.

You thought for a second before deciding. Wolf. Your favorite animal to shift to. You had practiced that shift the most as a kid.

You pictured the animal in your mind, and hyper-focused on every detail. Had you stayed in practice, the shift would have been nearly instantaneous. It had been years since you had shifted, and so your body demanded some patience. Your bones began to shift and contort, though it was a painless process for you. Your body just felt tingly, as if everything had fallen asleep. You figured you’d rather feel that sensation than actually feeling the drastic changes you were putting yourself through. The whole transformation only took about thirty seconds – not bad for just starting back up.  You had watched Steve’s face the entire time, amused by the micro-expressions flickering on his face. You padded over to him, bumping your head into his hand and maintaining contact. This allowed you to telepathically communicate with him.

Once again he was confused until he heard your voice echo through his cranium.

_Steve, you can hear me right? Answer me out loud. In order to communicate there has to be a physical bond, but I can only transfer thoughts to you, not vice versa._

“Yeah, I can hear you. That was … interesting to witness.”

_I figured it would be. I’ve never taken the time to watch it myself, but usually the shift only takes four to seven seconds tops. Depends on the size of the animal._

“Nevertheless, it was pretty incredible.”

You took a step back, giving your best attempt at a smirk. You readied yourself before taking off in a sprint. You had forgotten how fun it was to shift, so there you were, running circles around the circumference of the arena. Without even trying, Steve caught up to your pace.

 _Allow me to show you true speed, Spangles,_ you thought to yourself. Next animal? Cheetah. You morphed seamlessly as you ran, and quickly you were making laps around Steve in amusement. He stopped, panting slightly and watching you dart around like a golden bullet. You came to a screeching halt, chest heaving. You made your way over to him, before turning to the doorway and seeing the others all poking their heads in, watching you change in awe.

You shifted back to your human form and grinned cheekily at your audience, taking a bow.

“Turns out, it’s just like riding a bike - you don't truly forget.”

“Now how’s about we spar? Unless that winded you?” Steve teased from behind you.

“No way, gramps. I’m ready, let’s do it.”

Now was the time to impress, not only Steve, but the rest of the Avengers. The two of you eyed each other and circled slowly, unsure of who would make the first move. As it turned out, Steve took the first move, simply seeing how you’d react to a punch. You grabbed it, the size of your hand dwarfed in comparison to his fist. You managed to slow down his force immensely, enough to give you time to twist yourself out of the way. You had always been better at defense and avoidance than offensive maneuvers, but you could still pack a heavy punch if you truly needed to.

With his fist still in your grip, you slid your hand up to his wrist, gripping as much as you could, and twisting with your whole body to bring his arm behind his back. Once his arm rested against his back you quickly rammed your shoulder into his back to try and bring him to the ground. He stumbled forward, and you tried to continue the movement, but he resisted as much as he could in such a short reaction time. You brought your knees down into the backs of his knee caps and pushed to try by any means just to subdue him on the floor. He faltered slightly, and you pressed your body into his again with just enough force to tilt him sideways. You both landed on your sides on the floor. You quickly released his arm and scrambled to straddle him, pinning him down as best you could with your knees on either side of his abdomen and having to use both hands to pin his wrists above his head.

You locked eyes with him, burning determination on your face. You had slipped into survival mode, but quickly snapped out of it when you saw him smiling up at you.

“Don’t tell me you went easy on me Cap, because I know you’re not that easy to take down.”

You stood up, offered your hand to help him up, and then dusted yourself off.

“Well, I may have held back some, just to see what you can do initially. I’m quite impressed at your application of basic self-defense. Also, you’re a bit faster than I had anticipated,” His voice was earnest, pleased. He glanced over to the doorway, and made a small gesture for the others to come in.

“What say the rest of you?”

You looked somewhat anxiously to the group of highly trained, highly skilled heroes who had just watched your bout with Steve. Natasha was the first to speak, surprisingly.

“You’ve got fire in you, I saw it in the way you moved. With practice, you’ll be fantastic. I’ll be sure to show you some things, okay?” she ended with a wink.

Your shoulders dropped as you relaxed, looking through the faces of the rest of the crew.

Wanda was next, pale and dressed in a style you secretly wanted.

“Your shifting is brilliant,” her voice was gentle, and her eyes had a soft look to them.

Tony was smirking.

“Not bad, not bad at all. Work with us and you’ll be an absolute beast.”

Clint and Rhodey gave two thumbs up, and Vision had clapped for you when you had initially pinned Steve down. You knew you had the full support of the Avengers behind you, and you already felt almost at home.


	4. Something Silver

After sparring a little more, this time with Natasha rather than Steve, Tony directed you to your room so you could take a shower and clean up.

“There’ll be a pad next to the door, just place your hand on it,” Tony said, continuing down the hallway after giving you the directions. You nodded and made your way to the elevator, pressing the floor number and staring at the floor as opposed to taking in the very high-up view of the city. Once the doors opened you wasted no time in escaping the too-clear elevator. Barely making a sound as you walked down the hall, you stopped. Sure enough, the pad on the right of the doorway was waiting for you. You gently placed your hand on it, the screen flashed green, and the metal doors opened up to you, revealing a rather posh room. Your jaw dropped as you took in the sight.

The bed had a luxuriously soft looking (f/c) duvet beautifully made up, a plethora of matching pillows, and wonderfully gilded posts.  The dresser, vanity, and nightstand matched the bedposts, and the couple of reading chairs and the curtains carefully draping the huge window matched the bedspread. The wood floor complimented the furniture, and the rug underneath the bed complemented the duvet. You were currently losing your absolute shit over the perfectness of this bedroom. You nearly held your breath in preparation of seeing the in-suite bathroom, which of course ended up flawlessly matching the bedroom, with not only a shower, but a wonderfully deep Jacuzzi bathtub. There was a mini-fridge tucked under the desk in the bedroom and it came to your realization that you could stay in your room for a number of days with no problem.

“Bless you, Tony Stark. Bless you.”

You made a mental note to thank him to his face later.

As you dried off from your shower, just putting your clothes back on and starting to towel dry your hair, there was a knock at your door. You made your way over and asked who it was before opening it. Steve’s voice came from the other side, and you quickly opened the door.

“I’m not bothering you, am I?” He questioned you genuinely.

“No, of course not. What’s up?” you shot back, beckoning him inside.

You noticed as he walked in that he was holding a file tucked under his arm. Mission stuff perhaps?

“What’ve you got there, Steve?”

“I came up here to start talking to you about the mission I need your help with. I figure if you know what we’re dealing with, it could come in handy in the long run.”

You nodded quietly, taking a seat at the table-side window, and he mirrored you, placing the folder gently in front of you. You opened the file, and there were all records he had dealing with the ex-Winter Soldier. 

“As far as I’m aware, Bucky is silent out there. He’s keeping so low, I haven’t had a lead on him for three weeks now, which is semi-concerning. He’s incredibly unstable at the moment, and he’s one of the most deadly men I know of. But I’ve gotta find him, (y/n). He’s worth saving…” Steve trailed off, looking out the window, his face showing his inner turmoil.

“I know he is, Steve. I know. I have faith in you, and in Bucky. and if anyone can help him it'd be you,” you placed a hand lightly on his in an effort to communicate reassurance.

You began to actually study the file. Clipped to the inside of the cover were two pictures of him – one of him in a cryogenic suspension, the other being an old, tattered picture of him back in the Howlin’ Commandos days. You hovered over the second one, studying his features intently. Your heart had nearly skipped a beat at how handsome he looked in uniform but you quickly managed to push your thoughts down for the time being. Skimming through the rest of the dossier and being supplemented by Cap’s anecdotes quickly gave you a good idea of what you were dealing with here: a very attractive, very unstable, very dangerous mess; and you were absolutely fine with it.

“Let’s face it Steve, I need a lot of prep in a short window of time. We both know that the sooner we start looking, the better the chances of locating him. We also both know that I am very unprepared to come face-to-face with Bucky – especially if we caught him at a bad time.  He’s had years of training. I’ll have had less than a month at most.”

Steve’s face was solemn, and you desperately wanted to help him out, but not if it got you killed.

“(Y/n), you know I wouldn’t make you go after him alone. I’ll be right there with you the whole way.”

You nodded after a couple of seconds, deciding to put all of your trust in Steve at this point. You may have only actually met him this morning, but he seemed to be a man of his word. Silently you closed the file and took a deep breath.

“Well, let’s not waste any more time, shall we?”

It was clear to the Avengers after a few days that you had already made the decision to stay. You had taken a day from training to move what you needed to from your apartment to the tower, and the things you had no use for, you tucked away in one of the many storage rooms in the depths of the building. Your decision to call the tower your new home pleased the group, and they did their best to make it as welcoming as they could for you.

Training sessions took place between the whole lot of them, teaching you a plethora of things – new offensive and defensive techniques in not only hand-to-hand combat but also with weapons. You took a shine to working with a dagger, and other small, similar bladed things. Clint also started training you on your archery skills but that would take quite a while for you to become proficient at. Natasha worked on physical combat, Clint worked on your weapon skills, Tony helped with defense, and Steve gave you practice at fighting a super soldier. If you weren’t working with someone else, you were on your own, practicing your shifting and developing strategies with that.

After three straight weeks of daily practice, you decided that you had earned a day of rest. You slept in, took a quite lengthy bubble bath,  complete with face mask, body scrub, and painting your nails, and decided to take a trip out of the tower into downtown for a little bit of shopping. You left a sticky note on the outside of your door and headed out.

Once you had turned the corner, you realized there was a street market set up, and you were instantly intrigued. The smell of fresh produce was wonderfully enticing. Strawberries perfumed the air, and you quickly made haste in locating them. You paid for a quart of the delectable red berries and decided to see what else you could find. As your eyes swept the scene, a flicker of something silver made your stomach jolt and your breath hitch.

It was him.


End file.
